Rebirth of the Shadow Games: After the End
by cypsiman2
Summary: The last of the Shadows have been overcome, and life returns to what passes for normal in Domino City. What will become of Yuugi, Anzu, and all the others? Read to find out in this, the final entry in the Rebirth of the Shadows storyline.


After The End

The moment father opened the door, he was displeased with what he saw. He didn't show it in a way a stranger would notice it, but it was the same look as when he gave me the Millennium Ring. "Ryou, I trust you have good reason to be here." Not a question; he knew that it would have to be important for me to come back here, to my old home. He glanced over at Akai, and he looked at her quizzically. Akai kept her head dipped, and with the shawl she wore, father wouldn't see that she had adopted Amane's face. "Who are you? Were you a friend of Amane's?" Akai nodded slightly, and spoke in a voice very much unlike her real voice."

"That's right. Ryou and I are here to visit Amane's shrine. Can you grant us this favor, honorable father?" Akai had always played the face in our Role-Playing Games, so it was no surprise that she knew exactly what to say to my father to convince him to let us in. He nodded, we bowed, and we went to what used to be my sister's room. Everything was still here, and if it hadn't been for the lack of dust I would think that my father hadn't set foot in here since the shrine was placed here. I closed the door behind us, and pulled the letter I'd written from out of my back pocket. Even after I knew what I was going to say, it still took me two weeks to be able to write this letter. After all, it's the last letter I'll ever write to Amane. Then I realized that the scowl had returned to Akai's face.

"Thank you, for handling my father. I know he wouldn't have let me in without…" Akai put her hand out in front of her face, but she kept the shawl in place, just in case Father came in unexpectedly.

"It's not worth mentioning. Let's just get this over with. I don't want to overstay my welcome." Of course. Amane, I know now that you can hear me, so please, listen carefully. Once I'm done, I'm going to say goodbye, and I can't ever look back. I opened up the shrine, and was greeted by your face. I paused for a moment, and wondered how you would look if you were still alive. My hands moved without my thoughts to guide them, and pulled out the incense. Akai opened the window a crack, and I lit the fire. I unfolded the letter, placed it gently down on the embers the incense left behind, and got down on my knees. The edges of the paper began to crumple up, and the process was slow enough for me to read the letter one last time.

"Dear Amane," I whispered just beneath my breath, trying to keep my composure. "Thank you again, for saving me from myself. Even though you're no longer with us, you're still here for me. But now, I want you to know that I won't be a burden to you anymore. You don't have to carry me, hold me, or keep me steady. I'm strong enough to stand on my own, and you deserve to be able to go on your own journey. I'll always remember you, the way you've always been there for me, the way you were always brave for me. I could never have hoped to ever have such a wonderful sister as you, and if it takes me all the rest of my life, I'll be the wonderful brother that you deserved." I paused to wipe a tear from my eye. Did Amane ever cry? I think she did, just one time. I don't remember the circumstances, but I do remember holding her as she let the tears come out. I felt proud of myself, that I was able to be a big brother to her, if only once. Focus yourself, Ryou. You have to finish reading the letter.

"Thankfully, I won't have to do it alone. I have so many wonderful friends now, friends who know who I am and accept me for what I am. At the time, I was worried that they would cast me out and call me a disgusting freak. But they understood. Somehow, they understood, and they assured me that we would all be friends forever. I can only imagine that once you're free to follow your own path, you'll be making so many friends on the other side." I paused, catching my breath. It was almost over, and the letter was almost nothing but ash. Just a few more lines to go.

"We're out of the darkness, Amane. We've found our way out, and into the light. And I want you to know that by the time I get to where you are, I'll love you like a brother should. This is my wish, and my hope is that this reaches you. With all my love, your Brother, Ryou Bakura." The letter was gone now, reduced to ash consumed by the incense. I wiped away the rest of my tears as I stood up, and it felt so easy. The weight, the darkness, it was really gone.

"I'm sorry Ryou." I looked over at Akai, and she was crying too. "I got so caught up in my feelings towards you, that I forgot that she was my friend too. I shouldn't have accused you of being a monster or a freak." She got up too, and wiped the tears from her eyes, careful not to disturb the shawl. Then she lifted it away, and looked me in the eyes. "It'll take a long time, but the next time we meet, I'll have my old face back. When that day comes, I'd like to duel you again. No shadow games, no mind-screws; just a game between friends." I smiled, so very easily.

"I'd like that, Akai." We shook hands, and made our way out of Amane's room. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Amane, smiling and waving goodbye. Of course, when I looked directly at where she was, there was nothing there. And that's how it should be.

* * *

"Are you sure about this Rei? Because there are still other options out there, there have to be." I looked at my brother, not bothering to hide my true face from him with some cheap mask. It still hurts too much to smile properly right now, but I can still smile enough for him.

"Don't bother, Tomoaki. I remember reading somewhere that scars remind us that the past is real. So even though it hurts, I'm going to keep these scars. Besides, you've picked up a few scars of your own." My brother rubbed his head gingerly; shortly after we recovered our souls, we found out that his hair had caught on fire and that Honda, if I'm remembering right, had stomped the fire out. Still, there was a lot of damage, and he never would be able to grow his hair quite so beautifully ever again.

"It's just as well. If I'd been willing to sacrifice this hair of mine back then, then you wouldn't have had to suffer like this. Of course, it still doesn't measure up to what you went through." I swear, sometimes I just wanted to smack that brother of mine. Mind you, that's an improvement over my old attitude of wanting to kill him. I think it's because he really does know my pain now; it's not just words and platitudes and promises, but the real thing, and with that understanding my inner fire has dwindled down to a few faint embers.

"Look, you did something stupid, and I did something stupid, and we've both suffered for our mistakes. I just want to put it all behind us now; I want to go somewhere where we don't have to feel the lingering eyes of strangers, where we don't have to hide behind masks, and most of all I want to find a place where I can let go of this anger. Does that really sound so unreasonable?" Tomoaki sighed, and pulled out his PDA.

"All right, I'll cancel the appointments with the specialists and begin contacting some Realtors, and if I have to I'll contact an Architect and have custom house built for us in the country, where it'll be just the two of us, just like before." Just the two of us, with no one to count on but each other; was this what you meant, Jounouchi? About the bonds between Brother and Sister? I don't know, there's still a big part of me that says that this isn't going to work out, but since you won the duel, I'll try and trust my Brother.

* * *

"And what of Jun Maeda?" Isono tapped on his PDA to bring up the information in question.

"He is still intent on organizing a duel with you to serve as a fund raiser for his orphanage, despite our adamant refusal to indulge him." So he's still at it, eh? Out of the question for the time being; still, once my final duel with Yuugi has concluded and I'm crowned the Duelist King, I think I'll be able to find the time to spare him one duel, so long as he understands that it will be a joint venture for the Kaiba Land Theme Parks.

"Send word to Maeda that I'll consider his offer, but only after I've won my duel with Yuugi. Tell him it's because I'm saving the best for last." Isono composed the e-mail and sent it off; I don't care whether Maeda believes my professed motive, but so long as he stops making noise…

"SETO KAIBA! It matters not how many obstacles throw themselves between us, I will make you my love slave!" That woman's voice rang clear through the security system, and was silenced only after a brief scuffle.

"So how far did she get this time?" Isono tapped on his PDA a few times to bring up the information.

"Miss. Vivian Wong made it to the fifth floor before she was successfully subdued, and it took seven guards to accomplish this. At her projected rate of progress, she'll reach this office in approximately two months. At which point you're either going to have to defeat her in a duel, or…" I narrowed my eyes by three-tenth of a centimeter; would Isono actually be brave enough to suggest the alternative to indulging that woman in a duel?

"I fear that like Yuugi, you're going to have to get a girlfriend to get her off your case, sir." What do you know, he did. I'll have to give him a raise afterwards; sufficiently afterwards that he won't be able to connect the raise with what he'd just done now. After all, if he kept earning more raises, there wouldn't be enough money in the budget to hire new employees, and that wouldn't be very fair, now would it?

"Isono, you do understand that I'm a very busy man; I am the CEO of a major international corporation that is currently handling negations with the new head of Industrial Illusions, and as the true Duelist King I have to personally handle all the arrangements necessary to make sure that my duel with Yuugi will be sufficiently grandiose for the commoners to appreciate it. Where, in all that, do you suggest I fit in some meaningless duel or an insipid trophy girlfriend of convenience?" Isono coughed.

"Well, I don't know what to say about the duel, but strictly speaking you wouldn't have to get a trophy girlfriend. You could…pursue the real deal?"

"Thank you Isono, if I need you again today, I'll let you know." I didn't need to speak twice in order to get my meaning across, and now I was alone in my office.

Honestly though, who would have thought that one persistent woman could possibly tie up so much of the company's resources? Although waiting for her to eventually break through all his security would technically be the path of least resistance, it would be far too costly in the long-run to be practical. I suppose I could seek her out and finish this in a duel, but that would be indulging her in her desires and that would defeat the purpose of crushing her in a duel.

But that didn't make the alternate strategy any more tenable; after all, what women do I know? Anzu was out of the question from the very beginning, even before she and Yuugi finally admitted their feelings for one another. Shizuka was related to Jounouchi, so I needn't discuss her any further. Mai…while a capable duelist, her taste in men left much to be desired.

Well, this was going nowhere fast. Seriously, how can it be this difficult to come up with the name of a female of the right age and the right mentality?

"Big Brother," Mokuba's voice rang through the intercom, "Isis Ishtar called during your meeting just now and she wanted to confirm the date of your duel with Yuugi so that she could get her government duties out of the way in time to observe."

"Thank you Mokuba, I'll be sure to deliver the date to her." Oh yes, I'd forgotten about Isis. To review; she's powerful, intelligent, and most of all not the sort to expect me to act like some love sick idiot just because she wants me too. Indeed, with her job in the Egyptian Government, we wouldn't have to interact very much at all, just enough for the sake of the cameras. Very well, if I must become involved with a woman in order to resolve this matter, then it may as well be her.

But first I need to finalize the date of my duel with Yuugi. After all, play comes before work.

* * *

"So, why were you named 'Sakharov'? It sounds like such a strange foreign name." I can't believe that I'm actually doing this; I mean, going to a therapist? Discussing my life story with a complete stranger? Then again, it's not like I have any friends or family left to talk about this stuff with. I guess I better answer the question.

"Sakharov was the name of a soviet physicist who pioneered the development of one of the first hydrogen bombs. The idea was that it would represent the use of fusion cards in my deck. You are familiar with Duel Monsters, yes?" Dr. Tsukumo nodded.

"My son is an avid fan of the game. He's always getting into arguments with his friends over who is the greater duelist, Seto Kaiba or Yuugi Mutou. I've tried to play it with him, but those holograms…let's just say I wish I were still a student and could dedicate my thesis to the effect those things have on the mind. But you were saying?" Yeah, this guy had a tendency to go on a tangency, but Dr. Kaetsu recommended him, so I decided to give him a chance.

"Anyway, some of the most powerful monsters in the game can only be played as the fusions of other, weaker monsters. Not unlike how fusing small hydrogen atoms unleashes huge quantities of energy. That was the original rationale, in any event. But as I kept dueling, I found that the focus of my deck was changing. By the time I dueled that girl, Anzu, my deck was almost entirely focused on the darkness. I even tried to add Emes the Infinity, one of my favorite cards, to my hand, and instead I got Belial the Marquis of Darkness. It certainly reflected the way I dueled, using that girl's worst memories against her." Dr. Tsukumo put down the notes that he'd been taking.

"I'm not going to question you about these 'Shadow Games' of yours. Dr. Kaetsu more then adequately convinced me of their reality. What concerns me, and what I think concerns you the most, is why you made use of such dark powers? I understand why Dr. Kaetsu did what he did, even if I didn't agree with it. But what about you?" Yeah, I knew this part was coming. Well, time to make the leap.

"It was about three years ago. I'd met a woman, a foreign woman. Her name was Lillian Strong, and she had to be the most beautiful woman I'd ever met. I was able to convince my family that I was simply interested in her from a cultural perspective, but that didn't last for very long. My mother and father were outraged when they learned the truth, and I said some pretty horrible things; something along the lines of how they were 'backwards, bigoted, and hidebound'. I even said that they never really loved me, that all they loved was the role I played in the family. That was when my mother slapped me, and I left, screaming about how I had no family." Dr. Tsukomu paused, carefully choosing his words.

"And I assume that things didn't work out with Lillian Strong?"

"Right you are. Oh sure, my time with her felt like a dream, but like with all dreams you eventually wake up. As it turned out, she had commitment issues, and there was nothing I could do to convince her to stay. And as I'd feared, my parents had no desire to see me again. I wandered for a while, with no greater purpose then to keep myself fed. This went on for about a year and a half, until I found myself in the employ of a woman who insisted on being addressed as Dopol. After a time, I began to see her as the grandmother I never had, but once she had my trust she played her shadow game with me. I had to relive each stupid mistake I'd made, and by the time it was over, I wanted to be dead. Looking back on it, that vulnerability was what Dopol wanted all along. The moment she told me that playing that game on others was the only way I could recover. I think that about covers it." Dr. Tsukomu peered at me critically, like a med student carving up a cadaver.

"My professional oaths require me to be dispassionate and to avoid judgment. To be frank, your case tests the limits of those oaths. Still, I owe Dr. Kaetsu more than just my own life, so if you're still interested, we can continue these sessions on a weekly basis." Was this really what I wanted to do? Yeah, it is.

"Thank you for your time, Dr. Tsukomu. And if you could, tell Dr. Kaetsu 'thank you', from me." He nodded, and I left.

* * *

The moment I opened the door, I knew I was in trouble.

"Yo Hiroto! Heads up! Your big sister needs your babysitting expertise once again!" Oh no, not that little freak again! I know that Johji hasn't been anywhere near so obnoxious since Death-T, but he was still a brat who didn't fit my lifestyle at all. Still, that didn't stop Akane from dumping him in my arms. At least he wasn't wearing that hideous duck costume thing.

"Yo, Uncle Hiroto! Bet you've been missing me a whole bunch, right?" He was already doing that whole doe-eyed routine. I pointedly ignored him and addressed my sister.

"Come on Akane, why am I stuck with him? Why can't your husband take care of him?" My sister's first response was to muss up my hair.

"Donovan is a wonderful man, but to be blunt he hasn't a nurturing bone in his body. Now you, my dear little brother, are an absolute darling with children, as Johji will attest to. Isn't that right, my little dumpling?" Akane started poking Johji in his stomach, and despite the fact that the kid had to be pushing three, he giggled like a little baby. "Seriously, it'll just be for the day. I've got a whole bunch of errands to run, and having Johji hanging off my back would only slow me down." I sighed. It wasn't like I had anything important planned for today, so I guess I can cooperate.

"All right, I'll take care of the little guy for now, but you do understand that you're going to owe me big after this. Really, really big." My sister smiled at me.

"Of course. Oh, and if Mom and Dad ask, no I'm still not coming home." I laughed.

"I don't know, you'd make their day if you told them that marrying Donovan was the biggest mistake of your life." That was when Johji tried to kick me; it didn't hurt any, but I felt his intention.

"Uncle Hiroto, if you call mom stupid again I'll puke all over your clothes!"

"I never said that! Your kid's pretty defensive of you, you know that right?" Akane laughed at us, or with us. Probably both.

"That's how I know I'm doing my job as a mother." She smirked, and, well, I smirked back.

"So, you got to do those errands right this minute, or can you spare a minute and have a snack."

"Afraid I don't have the time. So, see you later!" Akane leapt back onto her motorcycle, flipped her helmet on, and raced off. Now I was left with the little pest.

"So how do I get you out of my hair until your mother gets back?" Johji smiled up at me.

"You could invite Anzu over and give me to her."

"Not happening. First, I don't have a death wish. Second third and fourth, I don't have a death wish. And fifth, she's probably on a date with Yuugi and I don't have a death wish."

"Anzu…with YUUGI!" Johji made some overdramatic expressions of disgust. Then he turned his face back to normal. "Eh, whatever, he can have her. So come on Honda, think of something that I can do here!" This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Welcome, Jounouchi and Shizuka, to Casa de Mai!" Mai stuck her arms out in a flourish, like she was worried we wouldn't be impressed by her apartment; like she had anything to be worried about on that account.

"Mai, this place is beautiful! How can you afford all this?" Shizuka leapt onto a couch near the far wall, and judging by the way she sank into the cushion, that was one soft love-seat.

"Well, I'd like to say that my winnings are paying for this, but the truth is that that money almost all gone. I had to take out one hell of a loan to afford this place." A big loan? Oh hell, this isn't good.

"Mai, not to try and suggest you made a mistake or anything, but you do have a plan for paying off that loan, right? Because trust me, you don't want to go into debt; it has a way of really ruining your life." Mai gave me a glare that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Then she laughed.

"Oh relax would you? Just because my current winnings are running low doesn't mean there won't be more in the future; there's always another tournament or three going on somewhere. And worse comes to worst, I'll see if I can get a job under Roulette again." Oh no, that is not going to…wait a second; she's trying to play me! Yeah, Mai is trying to get me all riled up for her amusement. Well I'm not falling for it this time!

"Yeah, I hear that Roulette's been paying big bucks to all his new employees. If you apologize for kicking his ass, he might even take you back in." Oh man, I hope this works! The last time I managed to put one over on Mai was back at Duelist Kingdom, and I'd really like to experience that again.

"I'm not surprised to hear that. Makes me wish I could do something about it, but the odds that he'll put his casino cruise on the line of a duel is pretty much next to nil. But, there's only so much we Duelists can do in the end." Ouch, backfire. Shizuka looked at Mai all somber like. Hearing her idol admit weakness in the comfort of her own home, that would be pretty hard.

"But Miss Mai, there's got to be something we can do; I mean, if that man almost got away with what he was doing to you…we just have to stop him! Big Brother, Miss Mai, you're both True Duelists, so there's got to be something you can do." I sighed.

"Hey, it's not like we like the idea of that guy walking free, but it took a lot of effort just to get Mai out of his grasp. I don't know that we could even begin to do…" That was when we heard someone knocking at the door.

"Okay, did you guys tell anyone where we were going to be?" Shizuka and I shook our heads. Mai opened the door, and there were a couple of kids; the boy looked to be about eight and had brown hair, while the girl must have been five with blond hair. The boy spoke first.

"Are…are you really Miss Mai Kujaku?" Mai nodded, and the little girl rushed forward and grabbed Mai's hands.

"Miss Mai, my name is Asuka Tenjouin, and I'm your biggest fan! I just want you to know that you're a real inspiration and I hope I can be a great duelist just like you! I've even already started working on my deck, take a look at my cards!" Mai looked over the cards, and gave the little girl a warm smile. Not a side to Mai I'm used to seeing, that's for sure. Shizuka is though.

"Darling, these are wonderful cards, but what you really need are some good friends to play the game with. Why don't you start with your older brother? I'm sure he wouldn't mind, right?" Mai winked at the kid, and he freaking blushes! Kids these days, growing up way too fast. That's when the boy started posturing.

"Fear not, Miss Mai Kujaku, for I, Fubuki Tenjouin, shall see to it that my little sister becomes one of the greatest duelists in the world!" With that, the brother and sister ran down to what I could only assume to be their parents' car. Then Shizuka gave Mai a big hug from behind.

"Wow, you have some really dedicated fans, Miss Mai! Weren't those two just darling? Miss Mai?" Mai looked to be in contemplation about something.

"Those kids acted like I was a real hero…so it looks like I'm going to have to become the real deal." She couldn't mean…

"So you're going to take on Roulette?" She gave me a quick thumbs up.

"And all other men like him. It'll be a hard struggle, but that little girl deserves to have as many of those glass ceilings blown away for her." Could we really do something like that? Change the world, for the better? Well, why the hell not! After all, Mai and I are True Duelists, and that means we can face down any challenge for our dreams! Won't dear old dad be surprised when he finds out what I've finally decided to do with my life?

* * *

All right Otogi, there's no turning back now; once she picks up the phone, you're going to have to talk to her. Yeah, it would probably have made sense to have something planned to say, especially since I've spent the past two weeks trying to convince my father to give up her name so that I could talk to her, but in order to plan something you have to know something, and I don't know anything about this woman. Except, I do know that she was the one who carried me for nine months, but that doesn't count for much.

"Hello, who is this?" Her voice was light and airy, and so I imagined that she must have been a rather slight woman.

"…Hello, I'm Ryuji Otogi. Is this…Is this Ineko Ikeda?"

"As a matter of fact, I am Ikeda. Why have you called me, Mr. Otogi?" She must not have recognized my name; I guess I'll have to cut to the chase.

"Seventeen years ago, you bore a surrogate child. I'm that child." She isn't saying anything, but at the same time she hasn't hung up yet.

"So what do you want from me? Money? Property? Or do you want to berate me for not fighting tooth and nail to keep you?" Even though we're separated by hundreds of miles, her hostility rings loud and clear. I can't be surprised though; I can't even imagine the grief she's gone through on my account.

"No, I don't want anything from you. I just want to say thank you, for bringing me into the world. Things were rough early on, but now I've got so many friends I don't know what to do with them all. Just remember, there's one person who appreciates what you've done. That's all I have to say." Just as I was about to hang up, I heard her cry out.

"Wait, there's something I want to ask you." I bring the phone back to my ear. "Tell me about these friends of yours." I smiled, and I made sure she could hear it too.

"Okay, but this is going to take a while. First there's Yuugi…"

* * *

"Mr…Tsuru, is it?" He nodded. "You said you had a card proposal that I had to see personally?" He nodded even more; it made me worry that his head was going to pop off.

"That's right, CEO Shiori. I feel that this card is the pinnacle of my life's work, and so you should be the first to see it." In an overly dramatic fashion, he placed the card down onto the holographic interface, revealing the 3d image of the monster.

"…What am I looking at?" He could hear the displeasure in my voice, and he realized that he was going to have to work hard to recover from this set back.

"Its name is Yubel, and as you can see, it's a demon." I narrowed my eyes.

"There are many demons in Duel Monsters, but I can't recall any that look some demented lunatic's impression of a hermaphrodite." Seriously, what could Mr. Tsuru be thinking? This 'Yubel' of his, its body is divided down the middle, with one side female and the other male. Throw in the spikes on its arms, the three eyes all of which are different colors, and even the hair that is neatly bisected with the rest of the body, and this thing is almost enough to give me nightmares.

"Yes, well, you have to admit that it looks quite fearsome, yes? Besides, you haven't even heard what its special ability is." I sighed.

"All right, what can this…Yubel do?" I swear, his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.

"You see, even though Yubel has no attack power or defense power, it can't be destroyed in battle, and if it's attack by an enemy monster, the opposing player suffers the damage instead. Each turn a monster must be sacrificed in order to keep Yubel on the field, and if Yubel is destroyed by any other method, Yubel the Absolute Terror is summoned onto the field." He smiled with hope in his eyes.

"You're fired. Burn this card, and get out of my sight."

"But CEO Shiori…"

"It's bad enough that this thing looks the way it does, but you just had to make it so disgustingly overpowered that nothing could stand against it. Have I made myself clear?" He nodded silently, removed the offending card, and ran out the door. "Honestly…"

* * *

"Hey mom, what was it like, the second time you fell in love?" She looked at me quizzically. We were cleaning the dishes, so I guess she didn't expect a topic like this to come up.

"The second time? Any particular reason why not the first, Anzu?" I shook my head.

"No, I'm just curious, that's all." Mom smiled at me, in that way that moms do when they know far more then they're letting on.

"I was in my first year of college, and I'd no real desire to ever fall back in love. A career and love? I didn't think it possible to balance those. But despite myself, I ended up studying with a senior who was just…so passionate. He really believed in what he was doing, and just being around him was an inspiration to me. When the time came for him to graduate, I told him how I felt and that I would drop out of college to be with him. Do you know what he said to me?" This was the first I'd ever heard of any of this, so I shook my head.

"He told me that he was flattered that I was willing to give up so much for him, but he couldn't do that to me. He told me about his mother, and how she'd given up her dreams to be with his father, and how heartbroken she was when he left her. So I stayed in college, got my degree, tracked him back down, and showed it to him. The smile on his face could light up the sun, and after a few years of dating, we were married." I let her story sink in; so that's the kind of guy that dad was. I can see that, I suppose.

"Now then, are you going to tell me why you asked, or am I going to have to tell you?" Crap, she does know. At least, she thinks she knows, but what can I say? How could I explain this in a way that would make sense to her?

"You've finally admitted your feelings for Yuugi, right?" I nodded, very slightly.

"Well, yeah, if kissing him in front of everyone counts." Mom hugged me tightly, mindful of how soapy her hands were.

"Even when you were little and kept insisting that you only liked Yuugi as a friend, I knew that there was a part of you that liked him more then that. It's why things didn't work out with that mystery guy of yours, isn't it?" In a way, she was right. Of course, it was much more complicated then that, but there's no point in bringing that up with mom. So I smiled back.

"Right again Mom. Tell me, is being psychic a Mazaki family trait, or is it something that all mothers get?"

"Hard to say, but once you become a mother, you can find out for yourself." That was when Dad came in and started kissing mom, right in front of me! I hope Yuugi and I don't get so careless in front of our kids.

"Hana, I just finished my proposal, and I'd really appreciate if you looked at it when you got the chance."

"Of course Akira. In fact, if you'll finish off the dishes for me, I can get right on it." And just like that, they switched places. For a moment I pictured Yuugi doing the dishes for me, and I couldn't help myself; I squealed, just a little. Dad looked at me funny, and we resumed cleaning the dishes.

* * *

"The way I see it Yuugi, if you participate in this one last duel with Kaiba, the store will get enough business to see you off to America by the time you graduate from Domino High."

"Thank you Grandpa! I know you always expected me to take over the game shop, so it really means a lot that you're helping me out so much with this." Grandpa started laughing.

"The game store and the heart of the cards are one thing, but I doubt that either of them could compare to love. Just make sure that while you're in America that you order all your cards from me; nothing against the other stores, but family comes first, right?" I nodded, and that's when we heard the door bell ring. "Why don't you handle this one? Just this once?" Okay, I owe Grandpa this much. I ran down to the counter to greet our customers.

"Welcome to the Kame Game Store! How can I help you today?" There was a little boy, standing just inside the store. He looked to be about five years old with short brown hair, and the moment he saw me, his eyes became huge.

"You're…you're the Duel King! Mom, Dad, it's really him!" His parents waved from just outside the store. They looked like nice people, but a little distracted. But no time for that, my customer is talking to me.

"Mr. Duel King, what's this card? I've never seen it before." I looked at the card he was pointing at; it was a brand new card that Shiori had made and sent to me about a week ago.

"Please, just call me Yuugi, and this card is the Winged Kuriboh. When you play him, he can keep your life points safe, no matte what." He looked up at me like I was something really special.

"You mean, like a hero?" I chuckled.

"I suppose so. I'm going to tell you something, but this is a secret between you and me, okay?" The boy nodded, and made like he was zipping his mouth shut before listening intently.

"This card was given to me by the CEO of Industrial Illusions herself, and she told me to give this card to whoever needed it most. And I've decided it's you!" I removed the card from its case, and handed it to him.

"Are you sure about this, Mr…I mean Yuugi? Because I've got plenty of money, I can pay for it."

"Trust me, you don't pay for gifts. Just make sure you keep a hold of that card, and you'll go far."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Yuugi. Oh, and my name's Yuuki. Judai Yuuki." He ran back to his parents, tenderly holding his card above his head.

"Now I'm not so sure I want you running the store after all!" Grandpa? "After all, if you give away all the cards, how can we turn a profit?" That was when Mom whapped Grandpa across the head with her ladle.

"Sugoroku, that was Yuugi's card, and if he wants to give it away, then that's what he'll do."

"Of course, Natsuko. It was just a joke, a joke." Mom smiled, satisfied that she'd made her point.

"All right Yuugi, I need your help now in the kitchen. Come along young man." I followed behind her, and once we were in the kitchen and she turned around to face me, I hugged her.

"Yuugi?"

"Sometimes I feel like I don't show how much I appreciate what you do for me. So I just want to say, thank you Mom, for everything." Mom was silent for a moment, and then she hugged me back. Then she held me out at arms length, and looked at me, eye to eye since we were the same height now.

"You've really grown up, Yuugi Mutou. I can tell that you and Anzu are going to be so happy together." Thanks again, Mom.


End file.
